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Heffernan, Rory
Preferred name
Heffernan, Rory
Official Name
Heffernan, Rory
Research Output
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
- PublicationUnderstanding particle deposition kinetics on NF membranes: A focus on micro-beads & membrane interactions at different environmental conditions(Elsevier, 2015-02-01)
; ; ; ; ; The significance of nanofiltration membrane surface properties when interacting with microbeads with and without permeate flux was investigated. This was achieved by characterising the surface tension and zeta potential of micro-beads and NF90 membranes to determine the colloid–membrane interaction forces. Dynamic adhesion assays under different ionic strengths (0.1 M and 0.01 M) and pH (5, 7, and 9) were conducted. Experimental results showed that at high ionic strength, pH does not have a significant effect on adhesion rates, while at low ionic strength the adhesion rate increased at pH 7 (4.56 s−1 cm−2) compared to pH 5 and pH 9, with rates of 2.69 and 3.66 s−1 cm−2 respectively. A model was devised to predict colloidal adhesion onto membranes under increasing permeate flux conditions, taking into account all interaction forces. Model predictions indicate that drag force overwhelms all other colloid–membrane interaction forces when the permeate flux increases to 7.2 L h−1 m−2. This study suggests that altering membrane surface properties for the prevention of fouling may be limited in its success as an antifouling strategy.390Scopus© Citations 14 - PublicationNanofiltration and reverse osmosis surface topographical heterogeneities: do they matter for initial bacterial adhesion?(Elsevier, 2015-07-15)
; ; ; ; ; The role of the physicochemical and surface properties of NF/RO membranes influencing bacterial adhesion has been widely studied. However, there exists a poor understanding of the potential role membrane topographical heterogeneities can have on bacterial adhesion. Heterogeneities on material surfaces have been shown to influence bacterial adhesion and biofilm development. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate whether the presence of membrane topographical heterogeneities had a significant role during bacterial adhesion as this could significantly impact on how biofouling develops on membranes during NF/RO operation. An extensive study was devised in which surface topographical heterogeneities from two commercial membranes, NF270 and BW30, were assessed for their role in the adhesion of two model organisms of different geometrical shapes, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Staphylococcus epidermidis. The influence of cross-flow velocity and permeate flux was also tested, as well as the angle to which bacteria adhered compared to the flow direction. Bacterial adhesion onto the membranes and in their surface topographical heterogeneities was assessed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), fluorescence microscopy and image analysis. Results showed that up to 30% of total adhered cells were found in membrane defect areas when defect areas only covered up to 13% of the membrane surface area. This suggests that topographical heterogeneities may play a significant role in establishing environmental niches during the early stages of biofilm development. Furthermore, no noticeable difference between the angle of cell attachment in defect areas compared to the rest of the membrane surface was found.456Scopus© Citations 17